“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the LORD.” – Psalm 31:24

From childhood, I grew up as a rather timid and shy boy. Because of that, I became sort of rag for peers to rub their mud on.

One day, a certain boy who claimed to be from a wealthy family started bullying me, as usual of course.

I felt that I had had enough. I jumped on the boy started punching him. It was at break time at school.

The children were cheering and shouting. I repeatedly punched the boy so hard that my hand got dislocated!  

That was the turning point for me. Timidity became a thing of the past. Today, not many people can describe me as a coward.

Many us suffer from lack of courage. Some people wrongly believe that cowardice and timidity are virtues!

There’s ample evidence to show that cowardice is a vice not a virtue.

A famous quote by James F. Bell says: “Fear is met and destroyed with courage. Again and again when the struggle seems hopeless and all opportunity lost, the one with a little more courage, and a little more effort will have victory.”

In our meditation today, the Bible commands us to “be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart.”  That “be” implies that it is within our ability to have courage.

Also, it shows that God’s strength comes to those who exercise courage.

As the scripture says, God’s divine strength comes to the courageous, not the timid!

“And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.” 1 Chronicles 28:20:  

1 CHRONICLES 28:20

In 1 Chronicles 19:13, Joab, David’s valiant army commander, told the people; “Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight.”

Who are you ready to fight for? To what extent are you showing courage in your ministry?

As Ambrose Redmoon aptly put it; “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than one’s fear.”

The moment you determine that something else is more important than your own comfort and safety, you will exercise courage.

As Rollo May said; “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice; it is conformity.”

I will share two more quotes on courage:

“Wherever you see a successful thing, someone once made a courageous decision.” – Peter Drucker

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin

When you’re prepared to test your limits, it is the courage you need to succeed in everything you attempt to do.

When the mission looks overwhelming and almost impossible, the only requirement is to exercise courage.

Do you appreciate the fact that our Lord Jesus was the perfect example of courage?

That is what Joshua was told by God shortly after taking over from Moses (Joshua 1:1-10).

It is what David told his young son, Solomon, in 1 Chronicles 28:20: “And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.”

May God help us to banish cowardice from our lives so that we can be servants with courageous hearts. Amen!